Henry Kress
Henry Kress, farmer, residing near Manchester, was born March 24, 1831, near Russellville, Brown County, Ohio. His father, George Adam Kress, was born in Bamasants, Rhine, Bavaria. His mother, Katherine Miller, was born in the same place There they were married, and five of their children were born in Germany. In 1828, they came to the United States and located near Russellville, Brown County. They had seven more children in this country, four of whom died in infancy.
Our subject was the sixth child of his parents and the first born in this country. When he was of an age to attend school, the nearest school was so very far away and held such a short time, and the need of the boy's work was so strong that he was not sent to school, and he obtained no education. He worked on his father's land until he was twentyone years of age; and from the age of twenty-one to twenty-seven, he worked out as a farmer. From 1854 to 1858, he worked for Luther Pierce on his farm; and on February 17, 1858, he was married to Miss Mary Jane Colbert, at Manchester. He went to housekeeping in Sprigg Township, where he still resides.
He remained working on the farm until the seventeenth of October, 1861, when he enlisted in Company G of the 70th Ohio Regiment. At the battle of Shiloh, he was the first one of his regiment wounded. He was shot through the left shoulder, and was so disabled that he was discharged on the twenty-sixth of September, 1862. He was unable to work any for two years after his wound; and for seven years after his return from the army, he kept toll-gate near Manchester.
He and his wife have had sixteen children born to them'; five of whom died in infancy or early childhood, and eleven of whom are still living. His eldest daughter, Kate Kress, was born March 15, 1859, and is the wife of N. B. Francis, at Mt. Sterling, Nebraska. They have one child. His daughter. Margaret A., was born December 30, 1863, and is the wife of E M. Burnett, a watchman at Manchester. They have three children. Linnie J., his third daughter, was born November 30, 1865, and is married to Mack Pence, a farmer near Manchester. His fourth daughter, Sarah B., born March 28, 1867, was married to Thomas Dawley in 1890. They live near Seaman, Ohio, and have one child. His fifth daughter, Lida E., was born September 21, 1868, and was married to C. A. Leedom. She resides with her parents. Josephine Irene Kress was born January 25, 1872, and is married to L. J. Kuntz, a farmer residing near Bentonville, Ohio. They have one child. Julia E., was born October 29, 1873, and was married to Will H. Lang, a farmer, in 1893. They have one child. His son, Fred N., born August 16, 1875, is single and lives in Nebraska. His son, Harvey Garfield, born May 10, 1880, and daughters, Cora A., born April 26, 1882, and Louella, born June 11, 1886, are still at home with their parents.
Mr. Kress was raised in the Lutheran Church. He has always, been a Republican. While he is always very prompt in the payment of his obligations, unlike the typical German he is not afraid of being in debt. No more honorable citizen lives in the country, nor any more patriotic. While Mr. Kress never obtained any learning, he has a great deal of philosophy, which serves as a substitute for the learning. At the same time, he insists that his children should be educated, and all of them have a good common school education.
From "History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time"- by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900